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RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
We read the news, cut through the noise and provide you
the notes.
Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s
Government Relations & Regulation Group -
a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory
changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying
compliance, election law and government ethics issues at the
federal, state and local level.
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Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
Washington: A court ruled Facebook’s parent
company Meta repeatedly and intentionally violated Washington’s
campaign advertising transparency law and must pay penalties that
have yet to be determined. The court also denied Meta’s attempt
to invalidate the decades-old transparency law, which the attorney
general’s office has repeatedly sued Meta for its failure to
abide by. Washington’s transparency law requires sellers of
advertisements, such as Meta, to disclose the names and addresses
of political ad buyers, the targets of such ads and the total
number of views of each ad. Sellers of advertisements must also
provide the information to anyone who asks for it. Meta, however,
has repeatedly objected to these requirements, arguing that
Washington’s law is an “outlier” that “unduly
burdens political speech” and is “virtually impossible to
comply with.” The court rejected Meta’s arguments, finding
the company had failed to show it could not comply. (Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times)
Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
Oregon: Oregon congressional candidate Alek
Skarlatos was cleared of violating campaign finance laws months
after a complaint alleged he improperly funded his campaign with
money from a nonprofit he also controlled. Shortly after losing his
2020 bid to represent Oregon’s 4th district, Skarlatos
established the nonprofit group 15:17 Trust using $93,000 left over
from his campaign. The nonprofit subsequently transferred $65,000
to Skarlatos’ 2022 campaign. The Federal Election Commission
found that Skarlatos’ nonprofit failed to raise much money and
determined the cash transfers likely amounted to a legitimate
refund. (Brian Slodysko, AP News)
Tennessee: The Tennessee Registry of Election
Finance will audit former state Senate candidate Gary Humble to
ascertain if his campaign illegally coordinated with his nonprofit
organization, Tennessee Stands, and whether it operated as a
political action committee without registering. A Registry board
member called for an investigation into Tennessee Stands, a
501(c)(4) organization of which Humble serves as the executive
director, alleging the PAC-like group held events simultaneously
with Humble’s campaign before the election. Under new state law
tracking certain activity of organizations within two months of an
election, Tennessee Stands would be required to register and file
reports with the Registry. (Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout)
Government Ethics & Transparency
Georgia: Former Atlanta city official Rev.
Mitzi Bickers was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after a
jury found her guilty of money laundering, wire fraud and
conspiracy to commit bribery. Bickers was accused of using her
influence as Director of Human Services to funnel roughly $17
million in business to city contractors in exchange for over $2.9
million in bribes for herself and others. (FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team, FOX 5 Atlanta)
Indiana: A federal judge ordered a local
contractor to pay $104,000 in restitution to the Muncie Sanitary
District (MSD) after the contractor pled guilty to fraud relating
to a federal investigation into corruption in the Muncie city
government. The contractor pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire
fraud for paying the ex-local Democratic Party chairman $5,500 in
cash to win a contract to work for the sanitary district. The
contractor also admitted to illegally giving an MSD official $5,000
in cash to donate to then-Mayor Dennis Tyler’s re-election
campaign. (Douglas Walker, Muncie Star
Press)
Elections & Voting
Arizona: Following a federal court order
preventing state officials from taking any action to implement or
enforce HB 2243 until at least January 1, 2023, state officials are
prohibited from removing voters from the voter rolls before the
upcoming election. The law, which was supposed to take effect on
September 24, requires county recorders to cancel registrations of
voters who they have a “reason to believe” are
ineligible. H.B. 2243 also establishes a process for recorders to
rely on information from non-election-related databases to
determine voter eligibility. The court’s order, however,
effectively ends the possibility of removing voters before the
November elections. (Press Release, Asian Americans Advancing
Justice)
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